Laserfiche WebLink
The powers and authorities granted to an oversight agency can be combined in any <br />manner that works best for an individual community. While a volunteer review board <br />may not have the resources to ensure each complaint and investigation is handled in a <br />manner that guarantees transparency and accountability, it does add an important layer <br />of community involvement, communication, and trust building. Being limited to <br />reviewing completed investigations might be frustrating for some, while others find that <br />a limited mandate allows for resources to directed in such a manner so as to ensure <br />that each review is thorough and maximize each opportunity for feedback and change <br />Funding Mechanism/Budget <br />When deciding what model to implement, the needs of the community should be <br />carefully assessed. Often, however, those needs outweigh the financial resources that <br />have been made available. The actual level of support, both financial and political, may <br />therefore heavily influence the decision as to what structure to implement. <br />In the United States, most oversight agencies are funded by, and are a part of, local city <br />or county governments. In Canada and Australia, the funding mechanism is frequently <br />at the provincial or state level. Funding in countries like England, Ireland, Northern <br />Ireland. and South Africa is at the national level. <br />Civil society organizations commonly play an essential role in motivating the political will <br />to provide the funds necessary to create and maintain oversight agencies. In the United <br />States, examples of effective advocates for police oversight include the American Civil <br />Liberties Union (ACLU), the League of Women Voters (LWV), the National Association <br />for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the American Friends Service <br />Committee (AFSC), and many other community -based organizations. <br />26 <br />65D-155 <br />